Stoke City FC

Stoke City Football Club is an English Premier League association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Founded in 1863, Stoke is the oldest club in the Premier League, and is considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts County.

They play in the Premier League after winning promotion in 2008, prior to this Stoke had not participated in top flight football for twenty-three years. Their first major trophy was won in the 1972 League Cup Final, when they beat Chelsea 2–1. The club has won the Football League Trophy on two occasions, firstly in 1992 and most recently in 2000. Their highest league finish in the top division is 4th, which they achieved in the 1935–36 and 1946–47 seasons. They competed in European football in 1972 and 1974; they will compete in Europe for the third time in the 2011-12 UEFA Europa League by virtue of having reached the 2011 FA Cup Final (the club's first and, to date, only FA Cup Final appearance), which they lost to Manchester City 1-0. They have also reached three FA Cup semi-finals, firstly in 1899 then consecutively in 1971 and 1972.

Stoke's home ground is the Britannia Stadium, a 28,384 all-seater stadium reduced to 27,598 after segregation. Before the stadium was opened in 1997, they previously played at the Victoria Ground, which had been their home ground since 1878. The club's nickname is The Potters, named after the pottery industry in Stoke-on-Trent and their traditional home kit is a red and white vertically striped shirt with white shorts and white socks